By Mariah Ashley

Don’t get me wrong, we love being wedding photographers in RI, but when we got the chance to shoot a wedding in the Dominican Republic we jumped at it. Destination weddings present some very unique challenges for a photographer; pricing yourself properly, making travel arrangements, packing only the essential gear, packing only the essential clothing, time changes, passports and work visas, scouting new locations, shooting in unknown territory, crazy weather, not speaking the local lingo, procuring meals, and last but certainly not least meeting client expectations. Whew! It can also be a chance to broaden your horizons, face new challenges, spread your creative wings, make new friends, and in general make some great memories and meaningful photos.

Our hospitable clients set us up in a very lovely villa, complete with a maid, cook, pool, and hot tub!  We really felt pampered, or as Dave of Meg and Dave fame {Meg Simone Wedding Films} dubbed us… “the one percent {of wedding professionals}.”  Armed with a golf cart for exploring and a car for getting to and from our shoot locations we found some amazing spots for photos.

The best part of our adventures was certainly working with our villa mates, New Hampshire based Meg and Dave of Meg Simone Wedding Films, and the incomparable Boston based Flipside band and their ringleader Corin. Rounding out our team was Mario of ESC Music Design. Everyone was friendly, funny, and super helpful. We bonded big time and made friends for life. Leading our team of New England vendors was Mindy of Boston based AE Events. Mindy and her team {Christine the co-owner of AE and Chrissy} haggled with customs to get hijacked wedding programs released, kept all the vendors in check, the timeline moving along, the bride and groom happy, and the party going off without a hitch. Their’s was a monumental undertaking, so impressive!

Here’s a little behind the scenes glimpse into our whirlwind  Mission Possible Tropical Destination Wedding. For the record, we spent 19.5 hours of it traveling, 6 hours of it scouting locations, 15.5 hours of shooting wedding events, and the rest sleeping, making dinner, and swimming in the pool. Thank you to our wonderful team and our generous hosts for allowing us an escape from the grey New England winter and a chance to make some truly beautiful photos and new friends!

Our villa and Golf Cart, let the adventures begin!

Our car. Scouting mission for potential photo locations.

Scouting and Rum Punch!

Snapping the beautiful scenery with Meg and Dave.

Inspired by Tropical Colors and Textures.

Tagging along with meg and Dave as they film the sunset.

Shopping, cooking, and hanging in our Villa.

The morning to ourselves. A little sun, a little snorkeling.

Ladies hard at work: Meg, The Snapgirls and Mindy of AE Events.

Go time! Shooting the phenomenal wedding!

Part Two: Details, Ceremony, Cocktail Hour.

The AE Events team, the party is a Smash Hit!!!

Flipside Band and DJ Mario.

Vendor Mania! Love all our new friends!

We hated to say goodbye, but we had to return to the real world and the rest of our fabulous clients. Let’s do it again next year!